With the Atlantic shores full of incredible marine-life, the cliffs of Hermanus are bustling with visitors to glimpse the migrating whales. Join Justin Fox as he recounts his meander along the Overberg clifftop, touring you through the coastal town.
Our little party of amblers parked at Hermanus New Harbour and set off eastward along the famous clifftop walk. It was a bright autumn morning, the sea sparkled and the fynbos leaked its heady fragrance as we picked our way along this enchanting path.
We passed Rietfontein, a reed wetland fed by a subterranean spring, and Tamatiebank (tomato bank), so named because of the orange lichen that grows on its reddish-coloured rocks. The air was loud with the shrill chattering of sunbirds and we glimpsed the darting shapes of sugar birds and bulbuls.
Skirting Fick’s Pool we joined the Hermanus Biodiversity Walk which has 20 nodes providing information on the flora, fauna, geology and history of this stretch, which terminates at Gearing’s Point, a popular whale-watching spot in winter and spring (June to November). Unfortunately, the southern right whales had not yet arrived from the Antarctic, but we did spy a pod of playful dolphins.
Just around the promontory, we reached the Old Harbour, a national monument and open-air museum commemmorating the town’s fishing industry which stretches back to the mid-19th century. We stopped for liquid refreshment at adjacent Bientang’s Cave, a picturesque establishment tucked into the bottom of a cliff with tables and umbrellas laid out on rocky ledges just metres from the waves.
Then on we pressed via the public tidal pool below the Marine Hotel where bathers wallowed in luminous green water. On past Roman Rock and Siever’s Punt, both favoured fishing spots, until we came to the mouth of the Mussel River, which has its source in Fernkloof Nature Reserve. After a bit of circuitous meandering, we came to Voëlklip Beach and, it being a golden autumn day, peeled off our clothes for a dip in the surprisingly warm water. Surfers rode the waves in the backline and children built sand castles on the beach.
After drying off, a leafy section of pathway through milkwood forest brought us finally to Grotto Beach, so named because of the caves hollowed out of its cliffs. An endless swathe of sand stretched around the bay towards De Kelders on the southern horizon.
Fortunately one of our party had left a car in Grotto’s parking lot, so we didn’t have to walk the 11 kilometres back to New Harbour. It had been a splended and utterly picturesque morning’s walk.
DO IT:
Pick up a map at the tourist information office on the corner of Mitchell Stree and Lord Roberts.
